The menu is under your plate
Did you know we travel there twice a week? To restaurant Athene, that is. A Greek place in the heart of Ghent, picked right out of the cradle of Western civilisation, and without a doubt one of our favourite lunch spots.
Plenty of deals were sealed here, and some of our best brainstorms happened around its tables. They produced some bright ideas, and countless satisfied bellies. Ours very much included.
Lunch, Covid-proof
These are strange times. After months behind closed doors, restaurants may reopen, but with a whole list of measures. No more shared menus, for one. And every party has to name a contact person.
So we put Athene’s menu on placemats. Everyone gets their own, and after the meal it simply goes out with the dishes. Or into the paper bin.
We also built a simple QR code that takes you to a registration page, where you fill in your contact details for your visit.
Free for every restaurant
We wanted to do our bit too. So we offered that registration service for free, to any restaurant that could use it.
Update, September 2026
That free registration service is long gone, and honestly, we don’t miss it.
Looking back, we were a bit too eager to go along in 2020. Anyone who wanted a plate of calamari had to leave their name and phone number. Today we’d rather build websites that collect as little data as possible: what you don’t store can’t leak.
We still like those placemats, though. A menu under your plate never hurt anyone.